Another brutal collapse in Cleveland leaves the Chicago Bears wondering what happens now. Matt Eberflus’ defense played well all day until the final 15 minutes. Then Joe Flacco sliced them up for two long drives for scores. There is no question the head coach deserves tons of blame for that loss. His job security was already in question. This might be the death blow. However, the bulk of the issues in the game resided on the offensive side. Justin Fields didn’t play well. He completed only 19 of 40 passes for 166 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions. He also fumbled twice.
There are no excuses for him. At the same time, this game was another frustrating example of how thin the Bears are regarding offensive playmakers. D.J. Moore and Cole Kmet did what they could, but the Browns clearly worked hard to limit them. Chicago needed others to step up. Instead, those others pretty much cost the Bears the game. It started with Robert Tonyan dropping a long pass from Fields that would’ve been a walk-in touchdown in the first quarter.
Then came Darnell Mooney.
The wide receiver had two plays that summed up the game and pretty much his season. One was a missed block on a 4th and 1 attempt at the start of the 4th quarter. Fields got tackled for no gain. Finally, in the waning second, Mooney saw a Hail Mary literally land in his lap in the end zone. The receiver juggled it, kicked it away, and saw it get picked off.
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Evaluating Justin Fields continues to be challenging.
It is beyond obvious that offensive coordinator Luke Getsy is a problem. His feel for playcalling is mediocre at best. Combine that with a lack of playmakers outside of Moore and Kmet, and the young quarterback is still forced to do a lot of the damage himself. It is moments like this people keep calling for the Bears to ignore taking a quarterback next spring and focus on finding Fields more help. Marvin Harrison Jr. is the obvious name. There are plenty of others as well.
The improvement from Justin Fields this year can’t be ignored. Playing poorly against the #1 defense in a rainstorm can be excused, especially when your teammates let you down multiple times. Unfortunately, the situation becomes muddy because the Bears are still in line to secure the #1 overall pick next year. GM Ryan Poles may not wish to put Fields under another coaching staff. The smarter decision, at least from a business standpoint, is pairing a new staff with a new QB.
One can only feel sad about the situation. Fields should’n’t’ve been the hero in this game. His teammates let him down again.
